December 2009

Carnivorous consumer of young hunks does her shopping in Shinjuku

By Kazutaka Shimanaka • December 30, 2009

“I like to hang out in gay bars and enjoy the music. And best of all, men don’t come on to me,” the slender, attractive Mie tells Shukan Asahi Geino (Dec. 31-Jan. 7).

Shrink seeks causes of males’ flight from sex

By Kazutaka Shimanaka • December 29, 2009

Clinical psychiatrist notes that the term ‘sexless’ first began appearing in medical circles in 1991

Salons supplying sleaze shuttered across Japan

By Kenji Nakano • December 29, 2009

On a recent visit to Tokyo’s infamous Kabukicho entertainment district, Spa! (Dec. 22) discovered that the luminescent Ichiban-gai arch, which hangs above one entrance near Shinjuku Station, was unlit. Is this how far Kabukicho has sunk?

Odious maid cafes put the squeeze on unwary Osaka otaku

By Kazutaka Shimanaka • December 28, 2009

Osaka ‘maid cafe’ joints add excessive taxes and fees to tabs

Tokyo’s dirty old men need love too

By Kazutaka Shimanaka • December 24, 2009

The writer of the series “Heisei soap-gai onna to kane sugoi hanashi” (Fantastic tales of women and money at Heisei-era soaplands) reports in Nikkan Gendai (Dec. 21) that it’s become quite common for elderly men to drop into Yoshiwara for some tender, loving care.

Little progress in ‘black widow’ case, fraud victim still uses matchmaking sites

By Amy Takahashi • December 23, 2009

35-year-old linked to 6 suspicious deaths

An unplanned one-night stand on the Orient Express

By Mieko Shimizu • December 22, 2009

“I’d begun saving up money for one year ahead of time to take a trip to Hokkaido with a close friend aboard a deluxe …

Williams’ return to Tigers possible at midseason

By Kenji Nakano • December 21, 2009

Sports tabloid Daily Sports reports that the Hanshin Tigers are investigating the possibility of bringing back left-handed reliever Jeff Williams at mid-season next year.

Sordid goings on behind Fukushima Prison’s gates

By Kazutaka Shimanaka • December 19, 2009

A staff member of Fukushima Prison has been taken into custody for engaging in obscene acts. Nikkan Gendai (Dec. 17) reports that Tomio Hirai, age 60, was arrested on suspicion of forcing a male convict to perform oral sex on him the previous October 18.

Sakai and Oshio cases leading to Tokyo ‘white powder sweep’

By Kenji Nakano • December 17, 2009

The high-profile drug arrests of singer-actress Noriko Sakai, 38, and her husband, Yuichi Takaso, have prompted police to institute a “white powder sweep” through the notorious Tokyo entertainment areas of Roppongi and Shibuya, reports Shukan Taishu (Dec. 21).